Chapter 6

Birds twittered in the leave above them, the sun shining brightly. Jewel slowly woke up, her eyes fluttering open. She sat up and noticed Barbossa sleeping next to her, his back to her. She tried to grab onto one of the berry branches, but couldn't reach it. She leaned over to the extent of their chains. Barbossa turned over and Jewel fell flat to the ground. He chuckled, very awake. Jewel smiled briefly before grabbing the berries.

"Good morning Barbossa." she said as he sat up. He stared at her for a moment.

"Have you actually shown me common decency Sparrow?" he asked. Jewel almost choked on her berries.

"Of course not, I was commenting on the fact that it appears to be a good morning." she said

"Aye, of course." he replied with a smirk. He reached into his own berry stash to have his own breakfast. When Jewel was finished she stood and stretched. She looked up at the canopy overhead, and barely saw the sun through it. She turned in the direction where it would set in the evening.

"We should go that way." she said

"Quiet." Barbossa said, standing up. "Listen." Jewel remained silent. There was a rustling in the bushes beyond them. Jewel put a hand on her sword, Barbossa drew his reloaded pistol.

"Something's coming." Jewel commented. As soon as those words left her mouth, a horde of giant spiders, all of them standing half of their size rushed toward them. The two froze.

"Oh bugger." they muttered in unison. They forgot their weapons before turning and running away from the beasts. Jewel looked at the large flat leaves some of the palms had.

"Wait!" she said, skidding to a halt, falling down with Barbossa.

"What is it Sparrow?" he demanded. Jewel grabbed a bunch of the leaves, all of them longer than her.

"Give me your pistol, shots and powder, we don't have a lot of time!" she said. The spiders were getting closer. Barbossa growled before handing over what she asked for. She shoved the palms leaves into his left hand.

"Go!" she said. He ran and she fell down, landing on the leaves. It was much more comfortable than being dragged on the ground directly. A few spiders were getting closer. Jewel took careful aim and shot the beast in the head. It fell back and crashed into a few other spiders. She had incredible difficulties reloading the weapon though, holding to resort to holding some parts of the process in her own mouth. They were approaching a rocky area. Jewel looked up at the stones and boulders ahead.

"Just one shot." she whispered, aiming high. She fired her shot and hit a small rock, which hit a bigger rocks, which moved a bunch of rocks, with the final results being a rockslide that crushed many spiders and stopped them for a moment.

"We need to stop." Barbossa said before slowing down. He panted, his hand on his knees, hunched over. Jewel was quite the opposite, bouncing around, excited about her aim and pistol use. Barbossa noticed the sound of rushing water ahead of them. He moved slightly and saw a lagoon with a large waterfall beneath them. But both of them were brought to attention when they heard a hissing sound. They looked at the path they had taken and saw the spiders coming at them.

"Come on then!" Jewel said

"There's too many." Barbossa said. He looked over his shoulder at the cliff. He grabbed Jewel's wrist and pulled her as he ran toward it.

"Barbossa, what are yo-no no no NO NO!" Jewel yelled before the two jumped off the cliff, Jewel screaming all the way.

"Keep your legs straight!" Barbossa yelled. Jewel did her best to comply before they crashed into the water. They swam to the surface for air. Barbossa pulled Jewel with him as he swam for the waterfall. There was a small cave behind the waterfall. Not entirely big, but big enough for the two of them to relax.

"You could have given more warning." Jewel said

"I thought the sudden idea would remind you of your father." Barbossa said

"You are not him, and you will never be him." Jewel said coldly

"Why would I ever want to be him?" Barbossa asked. Jewel looked at him, at his expression, before a smile crept onto her lips.

"You're jealous of him." she said. Barbossa scoffed and turned away, only making Jewel's smile grow larger.

"You are jealous of my dad! There's no use denying!" Jewel said, amused at the thought.

"I am not denying it, but I am not saying that what you think is true." he replied

"So you admit it then. You hate him so much because you're jealous of him." she said, pressing on. Barbossa turned around quickly. He grabbed the collar of her shirt and pushed her against the wall.

"Why is it that he had to have everything?" he hissed in her face, "A better ship, a better domain as a pirate lord... a..." he had a distant gaze, although his eyes remained on Jewel. He shook his head. "He had everything and he did not take advantage of the power he had. He neglected what would have made him a pirate I would have been proud to call 'captain', and instead wouldn't kill, refused to destroy, he was not a pirate."

"He was a better pirate than you could ever be!" Jewel screamed in his face. "You murdered innocent people, you've destroyed countless vessels, you were a monster Barbossa, a pirate I was ashamed to call my 'captain', and every night while I was serving you I was praying for some form of salvation, and it never came! You whipped me! You treated me lower than dirt! You gave me meager food and scant water to survive, only to be here today thanks to the kindness of Bootstrap Bill, not you! Never you!" Jewel was sounding close to tears. "I have had nightmares of the times I've spent aboard the Pearl while you were her captain. Horrible nightmares of the times the crew tried to... You were a bloody monster Barbossa! I hate you!" Jewel was crying now. Barbossa slowly let go of her as she cried.

"It was your mother that was the straw what broke the camel's back." he said softly. "I loved her when she came aboard the Pearl. She seemed to show the same feelings for me, but then... Jack took her from me."

"So torturing me was your revenge against the both of them? You sick bastard." Jewel said rubbing at her eyes.

"Aye." Barbossa said softly, his head leaning forward. The only sound heard afterwards was that of the falling water. The tension between the two pirates was thick. Although the time not talking softened it, it did not eliminate it at all. They spent their day in the small cave, deciding the spiders did not like the water. Jewel reached into her vest and pulled out their map. Surprisingly, the water did nothing to the parchment.

Their trail was getting closer to where the boat was. And... it could have been a trick of the light, but were the small sketches of Jewel and Barbossa a bit closer than when she first saw them? She shook it off and folded it up, placing it back into her vest. and grabbed a few berries she had kept for a snack. They would have to be her meal for now. She looked over at Barbossa.

Bloody monster. He doesn't deserve the locker, he deserves worse. she thought, Still, he did save my life. But... what was that quote? One good deed is not enough to redeem a man of a lifetime of wickedness, though it seems enough to condemn him. Yes that was it. Where'd that come from? Oh yes, James, when we first met. He said that about... Dad, when he saved Elizabeth.

Jewel sighed and looked down at her hands. Through the falling water they saw the sun was setting.

"That was fast." she commented

"Strange how time passes at certain moments." Barbossa agreed. Jewel looked at him before looking down. There was more silence between the two until night finally fell. Jewel rubbed at her eyes and fell asleep. Barbossa looked down at her before taking off his jacket. Because of their chains though, he couldn't take it off entirely. He settled for running the sleeve along the chain before putting the coat on Jewel.

"Sleep well, Sparrow." he whispered